Hurricane Isabel rages stronger

Hurricane Isabel is seen in this infrared satellite view from the National Hurricane Center

Friday, September 12, 2003

MIAMI, Florida: Hurricane Isabel has now been declared a category five storm, one week after Fabian devastated the British colony of Bermuda.

Late last night, forecasters at the National Weather Service in Miami said Isabel continues to rage westward with its center now located about 455 miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands.

Forecasters say should maintain its westward course it could close in on the Bahamas. 

"Isabel is moving toward the west near 9 mph and a track just north of due west is expected over the next 24 hours," said forecasters. Maximum sustained winds are near 160 mph with higher gusts expected today. 

Meteorologists warned residents of the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to be wary of large ocean swells and dangerous surf conditions over the next several days but Isabel's center will pass well to the north of those islands, so effects should be minor.

The last hurricane to develop into a Category 5 in the Atlantic was Mitch in 1998, which moved into the Caribbean Sea and killed 11,000 people and left thousands more missing in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.

The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

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